Final from Buckner. Coomer misses a three at the buzzer that would have won it for the Cats.
Steven Votaw gave Oldham the winning points by hitting 2 FTs with 2.9 seconds to play - his only points of the game.

Not taking a single thing away from Niece - he's simply an extraordinary player... but there are several more reasons, in my opinion, as a guy who usually sees SK only 2-3 times a year, why this SK team is far more dangerous than the ones I've seen in a long time. The coaching staff, for one, has done a remarkable job.
CM

The 8th Region saw a week of craziness this past week. As I promised you in the preseason rankings, I expected significant movement among many teams this year - and this year's third ranking reflects that.
Sometimes, multiple "upsets" (and we could debate how many of the games I've highlighted, below, were true upsets, and how many weren't.) leave you with a poll that isn't changed much. But there is some movement this week, although there...

Sounds like it was a game with the competitiveness worthy of two of the region favorites.
49-43 suggests that both teams executed on defense (or perhaps the offenses really weren't clicking?). And defense wins championships.
Looking forward to seeing W-V soon and OC again.
CM

South has had a bad habit so far this year of starting slow. It cost them in a loss to DeSales and they had to scramble to come from behind to beat Lafayette Thursday. So neither the big SK lead early, nor South's second-half explosion surprised the SO faithful.
That said, this was the best team South has faced so far, and you just can't spot Trent Steiner's team an 18 point lead in the second quarter and have a high expectation of...

I am broadcasting the game, however, the KHSAA site is INCORRECT. Tip off is at 5 pm. If you tune in at 5:30, you'll miss about 1 1/2 quarters of play. I have confirmed this with both the coach and AD at South Oldham.
Looking forward to seeing SK - this will be my first chance this year - and South looked impressive in beating Lafayette Thursday.
Interestingly - this early in the season - the two teams do have one common opponent,...

Since the 8th Region re-districted in 2006, no team outside of the 29th and 30th districts has won the 8th region. This might be the year the streak is broken as the 32nd is right now looking like the strongest district in the region.
But - as somebody has already stated - you don't crown champions in December. Lots of b-ball to play....
CM

Tale of two halves.
Lafayette took a 30-25 lead into the locker room as South threw up brick after brick. Nearly all of South's first half shots were threes, and they kept missing. With no inside presence, they only went to the line four times in the first half, hitting just 2. Lafayette was quicker to the ball, fast on the dribble drive, and even the 6'9" kid hit a three for the Generals. Lafayette's pressure 2-2-1 zone caused South...

Maybe not such a surprise. The two teams were ranked 13th and 14th in the region in the pre-season rankings....
North is still finding themselves after getting a new coach one week before the first practice. They didn't have the summer schedule to work with David Levitch and learn his system. Levitch is dramatically changing the offensive and defensive schemes at North, resulting in good games (Ballard, even in the loss) and bad games...

Week 2 of the 2018-19 season is in the books, and there have been some interesting - some might even say, "surprising" - scores already. I prefer to say that they are "thought-provoking", because how this region is going to shake out this year continues to look like a mystery that won't be solved in December.
Among the scores of note over the past week involving 8th region teams:
North Oldham lost, 78-76 - but took #8 Ballard to the wire...

Don't know about the 9th, but the 8th is definitely rebuilding a bit this year. There may be a really good team ultimately represent the region in Rupp, however, every one of the 17 teams have questions that must be answered, from the pre-season favorites (Collins) to Walton-Verona to Oldham County and all the others.
Oldham returns only 1 starter (Christian Harper, who took over a starting role midway through last year), but the other four...

Two undefeated teams play in the Ronald McDonald Classic in Buckner, KY
Oldham is 3-0 on the year; Highlands is 4-0 and coming off a huge win over CovCath.
Oldham graduated 4 starters from last year's Sweet 16 Final Four team, but their replacements all saw significant action last year in Oldham's 10-man rotation.
A big key is how well Oldham's interior players fare against 6'5" Ben Sisson of Highlands, averaging 16.3 ppg and 8.3...

Grant is off to a fast start at 4-1, and has scored 70 points or more in each game but their lone loss to Woodford.
South Oldham graduated 9 seniors from last year's 8th region runner-ups and is a more junior-led team this year. Still, the Dragons are out of the gate pretty nicely, bringing a 2-1 mark into the game.
Grant wants to prove they've closed the gap against the region blue-bloods....this game may well tell us if Grant is ready...

Grant County (4-1) on the road at South Oldham (2-1) tonight.
Lots of new faces on South's team (9 seniors graduated last year). For the last few years, Steve Simpson - who is now in his 19th season at South, with a 347-190 mark, including 3 regional titles) - has had senior-dominated teams. This one is more junior-led, with Luke Morrison, a three year starter, the most potent offensive threat and a potential double-double every night.
...

I only got to see Bonne once last year, because he got injured in the Oldham County game. During the time I saw him on the floor, he really impressed me as an impact player off the bench. Looking forward to seeing him taking on a greater role this year.
Impressive win for Walton-Verona. Contracts to the Bearcats.
CM

Wow. I don't know a lot about Highlands, but this is quite a score.
Looking forward to seeing Highlands come to Buckner Saturday for the Ronald McDonald House Classic. Highlands vs. Oldham County will be broadcast on The Pegasus Sports Network - PSN. I'm looking forward to calling this one!
CM

Big V - I don't disagree with you at all! In "given games" - in other words, certain matchups - size means a GREAT DEAL in basketball. Given the choice between a 6'0" guard and a 6'7" guard with similar skills, give me the 6'7" kid any day! But - my point is simply that a good coach with good players can - and often do - scheme around size more readily than you can scheme around lack of depth. Jon Jones and Steve Simpson - two of the...

JackieMoon, that game will definitely give us a little bit of an idea, especially since it will be pretty much all we have. But basketball comparison scores are extraordinarily risky, as style of play plays a huge part in the outcomes (and victory margins) of games.
But I think you're right; we're all watching to see how Gallatin and W-V play out.
CM

Yes, and that was definitely a quality win. But the Pioneers also fell to each of the following:
Oldham County
South Laurel
North Laurel
Scott
Walton - Verona (2x)
Collins
South Oldham
Covington Cath (granted, just about everyone lost to CC!)

Thanks for the correction! I got incorrect info and failed to confirm it. My bad.
That said, a 5 point game vs. Butler is still pretty darn impressive - especially for a team pre-season ranked in the bottom half of the 11th region.

8th Region Week 1 in Review
OK, I may not get any other prediction right this year, but I'm already right about one thing: this poll may be the most "fluid" we've seen in a while. I think it's going to see significant movements, including some teams that may sink early, only to rise again late in the year. (or this may be the year the joke about a blind squirrel finding an acorn every now and then may apply to this ranking!)
Last year,...

Franklin playing Butler to within five is a definite eyebrow-raiser....Courier-Journal has Butler #1 in the Sixth....
I think Spencer is going to be fine. I didn't see this game, but it sounds somewhat like last year's script. Oldham opened what turned out to be an insurmountable lead in the first half, only to see the Bears make it pretty close at the end.
Oldham only returns one starter from last year's Final Four team, so I thought...

Great opportunity for two future 8th-region rivals to square off.
From what I hear, Woodford looks solid. Grant can really put up the points, so this early season matchup may boil down to the "little things", i.e., TURNOVERS.

Grant County and South Oldham both put up 90+ in opening day wins (over Trimble County and Collegiate, respectively)… Gallatin County edged Holmes by one, 59-58. And Pendleton County manhandled Williamstown as five 8th Region teams opened the season.
Much of the rest of the region starts play tonight, but some will be getting in their second game already:
South Oldham vs. DeSales
Williamstown vs. Dayton
Grant County vs. Ryle
Anderson...